Hi all,
I've been lurking for a long time, introduced myself this morning:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f29/howdy-494150/
I'm starting with a Danby DCF700W1 7.0 cubic foot freezer, and Ranco ETC 111000 controller.
I wired up the temp controller a few months ago and have been drinking out of party taps, but started the build in earnest yesterday. Didn't really think to document it until this morning, but here's what I got so far.
It's sort of a bastard creation, with a collar mounted to the stock hinges that supports a top and coffin. My main concern about the design is that I haven't added hinges, and the top will include a 2x4 burly collar, wood bar top, and coffin with 3 taps and a cooling system. The lifting weight isn't an issue, I just don't want to tear the hinges off the freezer. I've added a chain to prevent over-opening or tilting too far backwards, and a custom-fabricated stick to prop it up. All of that sits in the cabinet on casters. It'll hold 4 corny kegs on the floor, but I think I'm only gonna have 3 taps and leave one spot open for a fermenter. I imagine having an IPA, lager, and random available at any given time, and don't necessarily need more than that. I haven't built the coffin yet, so feel free to talk me into a fourth tap.
The freezer isn't actually anchored to the cabinet, though I added some braces along the back that it nestles up against. I'm counting on lining it up and letting the freezer free stand, and the thing being so damn heavy it never moves. The top will have trim that hangs down to cover the interface with the cabinet and have a 'floating' look by about half an inch on each side. The actual freezer sits with at least an inch and a half between it and the cabinet, and the vent on the side of the freezer blows down into a wide compartment that houses the Co2 and electronics, with a floor that I drilled out. Given that except for when I load new kegs into it it will cycle much less often than it's designed to, I'm just not that concerned about heat, and don't plan to install cabinet fans unless somebody makes a great case for it. I did wire the temp controller to 4 AC outlets, and intend to have it cycle on an electronics fan that will suck cool air from the bottom of the freezer to cool the 5 inch shanks I picked up. If anyone has wisdom about sensor placement in a setup like this I'm interested. I know there has been a lot of argument about it and I'll just do trial and error. With just the freezer I've been taping it to the side of the keg, with a 5 degree tolerance before it cycles back on, and it's all seemed fine to me.
I can't figure out how to put pictures in the middle of the post, so they're all along the botom. Today I went to the local lumber place (RBM in Columbia Falls, MT. These guys LOVE wood) and picked up lumber for the trim, coffin, and top. I'd built the collar, cabinet frame, and paneled it yesterday. I'm using fir and larch throughout, with a dark stain on top and I'll keep it natural everywhere else. I looked at big slabs for the top, but they're heavy and expensive, and I like the rough circle-sawn flooring almost as much.
So far I've spent:
kegs and Co2 came with my initial brewing gear on Craigslist. Otherwise I wouldn't be doing this now.
$250ish on the freezer from Home Depot
$70ish on the controller on eBay (I think, it was a while ago)
$50 at RBM 1st trip, for panelling
$48 at RBM today for flooring material, trim lumber, and a gorgeous piece of larch for the coffin
$45ish at home depot for polyuethane, chain, hardware, casters, weather-stripping and rigid insulation board
I had tons of 2x4, stain, fasteners, sandpaper, brushes etc sitting around, so none of that is factored in.
As of now it's the prettiest thing in my life other than my girlfriend and my dog, so it all seems like a pretty small price to pay.
I'm looking forward to comments and suggestions.
I've been lurking for a long time, introduced myself this morning:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f29/howdy-494150/
I'm starting with a Danby DCF700W1 7.0 cubic foot freezer, and Ranco ETC 111000 controller.
I wired up the temp controller a few months ago and have been drinking out of party taps, but started the build in earnest yesterday. Didn't really think to document it until this morning, but here's what I got so far.
It's sort of a bastard creation, with a collar mounted to the stock hinges that supports a top and coffin. My main concern about the design is that I haven't added hinges, and the top will include a 2x4 burly collar, wood bar top, and coffin with 3 taps and a cooling system. The lifting weight isn't an issue, I just don't want to tear the hinges off the freezer. I've added a chain to prevent over-opening or tilting too far backwards, and a custom-fabricated stick to prop it up. All of that sits in the cabinet on casters. It'll hold 4 corny kegs on the floor, but I think I'm only gonna have 3 taps and leave one spot open for a fermenter. I imagine having an IPA, lager, and random available at any given time, and don't necessarily need more than that. I haven't built the coffin yet, so feel free to talk me into a fourth tap.
The freezer isn't actually anchored to the cabinet, though I added some braces along the back that it nestles up against. I'm counting on lining it up and letting the freezer free stand, and the thing being so damn heavy it never moves. The top will have trim that hangs down to cover the interface with the cabinet and have a 'floating' look by about half an inch on each side. The actual freezer sits with at least an inch and a half between it and the cabinet, and the vent on the side of the freezer blows down into a wide compartment that houses the Co2 and electronics, with a floor that I drilled out. Given that except for when I load new kegs into it it will cycle much less often than it's designed to, I'm just not that concerned about heat, and don't plan to install cabinet fans unless somebody makes a great case for it. I did wire the temp controller to 4 AC outlets, and intend to have it cycle on an electronics fan that will suck cool air from the bottom of the freezer to cool the 5 inch shanks I picked up. If anyone has wisdom about sensor placement in a setup like this I'm interested. I know there has been a lot of argument about it and I'll just do trial and error. With just the freezer I've been taping it to the side of the keg, with a 5 degree tolerance before it cycles back on, and it's all seemed fine to me.
I can't figure out how to put pictures in the middle of the post, so they're all along the botom. Today I went to the local lumber place (RBM in Columbia Falls, MT. These guys LOVE wood) and picked up lumber for the trim, coffin, and top. I'd built the collar, cabinet frame, and paneled it yesterday. I'm using fir and larch throughout, with a dark stain on top and I'll keep it natural everywhere else. I looked at big slabs for the top, but they're heavy and expensive, and I like the rough circle-sawn flooring almost as much.
So far I've spent:
kegs and Co2 came with my initial brewing gear on Craigslist. Otherwise I wouldn't be doing this now.
$250ish on the freezer from Home Depot
$70ish on the controller on eBay (I think, it was a while ago)
$50 at RBM 1st trip, for panelling
$48 at RBM today for flooring material, trim lumber, and a gorgeous piece of larch for the coffin
$45ish at home depot for polyuethane, chain, hardware, casters, weather-stripping and rigid insulation board
I had tons of 2x4, stain, fasteners, sandpaper, brushes etc sitting around, so none of that is factored in.
As of now it's the prettiest thing in my life other than my girlfriend and my dog, so it all seems like a pretty small price to pay.
I'm looking forward to comments and suggestions.
